Fabric

ABSTRACT

A fabric having a layer of substantially spaced apart design elements which are laid on a cloth substrate, in the warp direction. along nonlinear paths is disclosed. The design elements are affixed to the substrate and other optional components of the fabric by knit-stitching with parallel rows of stitches forming a series of loop chains.

United States Patent Groebli .1 ..66/193 X Simpson [4 1 June 27, 1972[54] FABRIC 3,389,583 6/1968 Duhl ..66/193 [7 2] Inventor: Elsworth C.Simpson, Glens Falls, NY. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 1 AssigneerPolylok Corporation, New York. 1,407,643 6/1965 France ..66/85 A1,467,783 12/1966 France ..66/85 A [221 M 1967 1,078,757 8/1967 GreatBritain. ..66/85 A [21] Appl. No.: 639,836 291,010 2/1910 Germany..66/193 437,390 10/1935 Great Britain..... ..66/l93 822,184 10/1959Great Britain..... ....66/192 U-S- [51 Int. Cl. ..D04b 23/10 [5 8] Fieldof Search ..66/ 192, 193, 85 A, 84 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 56] ReferencesCited Hoslery Trade Journal, May 1965, pp. 94- 100.

Examiner-W. Attorney-Brumbaugh, Graves, Donohue 81% Raymond 75 7,8511/1904 Waitzfelder ..66/193 1,531,548 3/1925 English ..66/192 X [57]ABSTRACT iz j A fabric having a layer of substantially spaced apartdesign 2890579 6 1959 M 00 A Ux elements which are laid on a clothsubstrate, in the warp Mauersberger 66 direction. along nonlinear pathsis 615616566. The design ele- 3,030, 86 /1962 auers erger I84 mems areaffixed to the substrate and other optional 3'274806 9/1966 Dflhl"66/192 ponents of the fabric by knit-stitching with parallel rows of 3,279,221 10/1966 Gllksmann ......66/l92 stitches forming a Series ofloop chains 3,309,900 3/1967 Wunsch et a1. ....66/85 A 3,314,123 4/196714 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEBJHMT 1922 3.672187 sum 1 BF 4 .'l'fin-In:

1 won"??? 6 1 FIG.

INVENTOR.

ELSWORTH C SIMPSON his ATTORNEYS PATENTEnJunzv I972 3,672,187

sum 2 or 4 2b P76. 3 V I0 PATENTEnJum I972 3. 672. 1 87 sum 30F 4INVENTOR.

ELSWORTH C. SIMPSON hi5 ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJUNZ'! 1972 3,672,187 sum u or4 INVENTOR.

wzw i hi5 ATTORNEYS ELSWORTH C. SIMPSON FABRIC BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION process for making such product.

Malimo fabrics typically comprise a layer of substantially parallel warpelements, and a layer of substantially parallel filling elements. Byspacing the warp elements, the filling elements, or both, an open meshfabric may be obtained. The filling elements are affixed to the warp byplacing them together and joining them by knitting threads. Thisstructure may be obtained on a machine of the Malimo type, usingprocedures and apparatus described in US. Pat. Nos. 2,890,579 and3,030,786.

The ability to easily mass produce a basic fabric in many differentpatterns is extremely important. While fabrics may be produced with theMalimo machine at a very high rate, fabrics heretofore made with thismachine have lacked the design flexibility needed to meet the demands ofthe market. Different designs may now only be achieved on the Malimo"machine by changing the color arrangements of the elements, by changingthe spacing betweenthem and the number of elements through a given area,and by omitting one or more of the elements. Thus, the possibilities arelimited.

It is also desirable to provide surface designs on knitted and wovengoods as well as other substrates including paper, foam sheets, fibrousbatting and various plastic sheets. Present day processes for supplyingsuch designs produce products at a relatively low rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the primary object of thepresentinvention to provide a basic fabric with a higher degree of flexibilityfor providing design variations therein than have been obtainable frombasic fabrics of the various types, including Malimo type, woven andknitted, as well as other continuous substrates, including fibrousbatting, foam, paper and plastic sheets.

Theabove and other objects of the invention are attained in accordancewith the invention by providing a plurality of new elements, hereinaftercalled design elements,'which are substantially spaced apart and arelaid on a flexible substrate along paths in the warp direction. Thepaths taken by the design elements'may belinear or nonlinear. Inaddition, a portion of the design elements may follow linear paths whileanother'portion mayfollow nonlinear paths. After the design elements arelaid on,they are affixed to the substrate by knitstitching. Knittingthread, forming a series of loop chains, interlace and bind together thesubstrate and the design elements into an integral structure. Theknitting thread either laps the design element or pierces it atintervals to secure the element to the substrate.

The design elements provide the fabric of the present invention with anadditional-degree of design flexibility. Many different designs may beobtained by changing the paths along which the design elements are laid,the spacing between the design elements, the nature of the substrateused with the design elements, the portion of the material over whichthe design elements are laid, and the color and material of the designelements. Thus, the basic fabric of the present invention may bedesigned to provide such diverse fabric end products as draperies, tablelinens, upholstery andclothing. Furthermore, if desired, the'designelements may be arranged to give the fabric a hand-made appearance.

The'design elements of the fabric of this invention may be made from anyflexible material. the choice of which is determined by the designdesired. For example, the elements may be preshrunk, predyed cotton orsynthetic yarn, or the design elements may be a narrow plastic ribbon.

A plurality of esign elements may be laid on the substrate from acontrolled changing oblique direction with one or a plurality of designelement carrying units, moving back and forth in a lateral direction. Amany as four independently movable units in the form of bais,'eachguiding 240 yarns (four per inch), have been used in conjunction with aMalimo" machine to produce fabrics according to the present invention ata high rate. The units move independently from each other, allowing ahigh degree of control over the design employed. It is recognized,however, that any number of units can be used, with any desired numberof decorative yarns per inch, and this also may be varied, depending onthe size of yarn and hole in the units.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or m1; DRAWINGS For a better understanding of theinvention, reference is made to the following description of exemplaryembodiments, taken in conjunction with the figures of the appendeddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the fabric of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the fabric of FIG. 1 showingthe relationship between the elements thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the fabric of theinvention; I FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the fabric ofFIG. 3 showing the relationship between the elements thereof;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the fabric of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the fabric of FIG. 5 showingthe relationship between the elements thereof;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the fabric of theinvention; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of the fabric of FIG. 6 showingthe relationship between the elements thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following descriptiomthecorresponding elements as shown in each figure of the drawings are giventhe same reference numerals, and a letter suflix is added to designatespecific ones of those elements when n v In the embodiment shown inFIGSJand 2 the design elements 2a are laid on a layer of spaced apart fillingelements 4 to provide a fabric, the filling constituting a flexiblesubstrate in the composite fabric of substrate stitching and designelements. The design elements and they filling .elements are secured intheir relative positions by means of knitting threads 6 which formparallel rows of warpwise loop chains 8 and diagonally extendingportions 7 which cross between adjacent loop chains. Each pair ofadjacent loop chains shares two knitting elements, alternate loops ofeach chain being parts of a first element and the remaining loops beingfrom a second element, in the form of a half tricot stitch;The fillingyarnsare engaged and held on one side of the fabric by :theloops of theloop chains and on the otherside by the diagonal parts of the knittingelements. The knitting threads lock thevarious components in positionrelative to one another to form a composite fabric.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and .2, the design elements have beenlaid along nonlinear paths which are sawtooth shaped. The apexes ofadjacent saw-tooth paths are alternatively contiguous to each otherandspaced "from each other resulting in a diamond pattern over the entirefabric.

This diamond effect may be easily obtained by utilizing at least,

two design element carrying units, moving'back and forth'in the fillingdirection. lfpreferred, however, all of the saw-tooth shaped paths maybe laid parallel to eachother to create a design without the diamondeffect.

stitch or a full tricot stitch and design elements only,'both with andwithout filling elements or other substrate.

In the embodiment of the fabric shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, design elements2b are laid on a substrate in the form of a layer of filling elements 4and a layer of warp elements 10 laid on top of the filling. As in FIG.1, the design elements have been laid along saw-tooth paths, but thepaths of the design elements 2b of the fabric shown in FIG. 3 areparallel to each other. The knitting threads 6 connect and lock the warp10 relative to the design elements 2b and the layer of filling elements4 by the series of loop chains 8.

In the embodiment of the fabric shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the designelements 20 are laid on a flexible continuous substrate 12, inparticular a woven fabric, in the warp direction along parallelsaw-tooth or zig-zag paths, but they are laid on only near the border ofthe fabric. Alternatively, the design elements 20 may be laid on thefabric along saw-tooth paths which are not parallel to each other toprovide a diamond effect near the borders. When used in conjunction witha flexible substrate 12, the design elements need not be restricted tothe borders, but when they are so restricted, as shown in FIG. 5, thedesign renders the fabric particularly suitable for use as atablecloth.'The embodiment shown in H6. 5 may also be modified by layinga warp of spaced apart filaments on the flexible substrate beneath thedesign elements to provide a cord-like effect. Still anothermodification may be made by laying down warp elements on the portion ofthe flexible substrate which is not beneath the design elements prior toapplication of the knitting threads.

The flexible substrate 12 in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6is a wovenfabric and in the other embodiments is a layer of warp and/or fillingelements. Alternatively, the flexible substrate 12 may be a knittedfabric, a sheet of elastomeric foam of the type disclosed in the- Duhlpatents, US. Pat. Nos. 3,274,805 and 3,274,806, a fibrous batting, apaper sheet, or a plastic sheet. Where sheet material is used, it needonly be of sufficient strength that it can withstand the piercing byneedles required to apply the knitting thread and at the same timemaintain its continuous nature.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show an embodiment of the fabric wherein the designelements 2d have been laid on a substrate in the form of a layer offilling elements 4, along sinusoidal-shaped paths which cross each otherat a plurality of positions. A pleasing efi'ect results when each of thedesign elements 2d are made from a yarn which is alternately dyed to aplurality of colors along its length.

The above-described embodiments of the invention are merely exemplary,and many variations and modifications thereof may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, the design elements may follow any nonlinearpath in the warp direction and need not be restricted to paths which aresaw-tooth or sinusoidal shaped. Also, any of the open mesh fabricsdescribed herein may be made with any of the flexible substratesdescribed above in place of the spaced apart warp or filling elements.

I claim:

1. A fabric made on a stitch-through type machine such as a Malimomachine comprising a flexible substrate, a plurality of substantiallyspaced apart design elements laid on the substrate along nonlinear pathsin the warp direction, each design element including portions ofsubstantial length extending non-parallel to the warp direction, andknitting thread fonning a series of warpwise loop chains which bindtogether into an integral structure the substrate and the designelements and which pierce the substrate and pierce the individual designelements at a substantial number of random points to secure thesubstrate and design elements against relative displacement.

2. The fabric of claim 1, wherein alternate loops in each chain areformed with a different thread, and each thread forms a series of loopchains.

3. The fabric of claim 2, wherein the knitting thread is applied as atricot stitch.

4. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is a knittedfabric.

5. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is a wovenfabric.

6. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is anelastomeric foam sheet.

7. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is at least onelayer of textile elements.

8. The fabric of claim 7, wherein the layer of textile elements isfilling.

9. The fabric of claim 2, wherein the flexible substrate is at least onelayer of textile elements.

10. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the design elements include portionsof substantial length extending diagonally, relative to the warpdirections, along straight lines.

11. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the design elements include portionsof substantial length curving substantially uniformly.

12. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the design elements are disposed ingroups composed of at least two adjacent design elements following anidentical pattern.

13. The fabric of claim 1, wherein adjacent design elements formdifferent patterns.

14. The fabric of claim 1, wherein adjacent design elements form thesame pattern but one is reversed relative to the other.

*0 i i II t

1. A fabric made on a stitch-through type machine such as a Malimomachine comprising a flexible substrate, a plurality of substantiallyspaced apart design elements laid on the substrate along nonlinear pathsin the warp direction, each design element including portions ofsubstantial length extending non-parallel to the warp direction, andknitting thread forming a series of warpwise loop chains which bindtogether into an integral structure the substrate and the designelements and which pierce the substrate and pierce the individual designelements at a substantial number of random points to secure thesubstrate and design elements against relative displacement.
 2. Thefabric of claim 1, wherein alternate loops in each chain are formed witha different thread, and each thread forms a series of loop chains. 3.The fabric of claim 2, wherein the knitting thread is applied as atricot stitch.
 4. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the flexible substrateis a knitted fabric.
 5. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the flexiblesubstrate is a woven fabric.
 6. The fabric of claim 1, wherein theflexible substrate is an elastomeric foam sheet.
 7. The fabric of claim1, wherein the flexible substrate is at least one layer of textileelements.
 8. The fabric of claim 7, wherein the layer of textileelements is filling.
 9. The fabric of claim 2, wherein the flexiblesubstrate is at least one layer of textile elements.
 10. The fabric ofclaim 1, wherein the design elements include portions of substantiallength extending diagonally, relative to the warp directions, alongstraight lines.
 11. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the design elementsinclude portions of substantial length curving substantially uniformly.12. The fabric of claim 1, wherein the design elements are disposed ingroups composed of at least two adjacent design elements following anidentical pattern.
 13. The fabric of claim 1, wherein adjacent designelements form different patterns.
 14. The fabric of claim 1, whereinadjacent design elements form the same pattern but one is reversedrelative to the other.